Shameless

by Teresa Mummert

  “Alice, one of my father’s... my employees.”

  “Alex is the one you meant when you said you knew someone who could get me a job at Swank,” I thought out loud.

  “I wouldn’t say I knew him.” He shook his head, pressing the heel of his hand against his eye as if to relieve a headache or painful memory. “Can we just talk. Can I explain myself?”

  Even with the new revelation, my chest was still aching with the rejection I’d felt from him. I raised my chin defiantly. “I don’t think I have enough time for that. I’m working.”

  He let out a small chuckle. “I’m your boss.”

  I smiled, but I knew it didn’t reach my eyes that were beginning to cloud over with tears. “Fine. I quit.” I took off my apron and shoved it against his chest before turning around to Milo who still seemed to be having trouble processing the information. “I’m sorry, Milo,” was all I could spit out before my palm slammed against the metal door that swung open to the overflowing bar. Amelia nursed her shot, her eyes locking onto mine before dropping back to her glass. It only took a moment before I saw Gigi giggling, her hand on Beef’s chest. When she saw me, her smile faltered, and I knew I must have looked like a wreck.

  Fingers wrapped around my arm, and I spun around to look at who was behind me. Lucas was staring down at me, the muscles under his jaw jumping. “You can’t just quit.”

  I scoffed as I rolled my eyes. “What you need a two-week notice?” I snapped.

  “I don’t mean about the stupid job. I mean me. You can’t quit on me,” his voice was so low that I could barely hear it over Harper’s singing as she belted out a song or the thumping of my heart in my chest. “You can’t quit on us.”

  “There is no us, Lucas. There never has been.”

  “You’ve never been a very good liar, love.” His eyes narrowed, and I blinked, sending a single tear down over the apple of my cheek.

  His left palm slid against my jaw, and as much as I wanted to pull away, I pressed against his touch as the pad of his thumb slid over my cheek, wiping away the solitary tear.

  “This is too hard,” I whispered, sniffing as I loathed in my own self-pity.

  “Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  LUCAS

  “Don’t do this in front of everyone,” she whispered before taking a step back, and I let my arm fall to my side. Her eyes darted back and forth and I could tell the sudden attention in such a crowded space was getting to her.

  “I’m not going to fight you,” I reassured her as her eyes dropped to the floor between us. “But I’m going to fight for you.”

  She slowly lifted her chin to look me in the eye. “I don’t even know who you are, Lucas.”

  “You know me better than anyone.”

  “No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I don’t know anything about you. Amelia... your dad... the cast on your arm. I don’t know what about you is even real anymore.”

  I grabbed her hand and pressed it against the center of my chest. “This is real, Henley. This is the only thing that matters.”

  She took a step back, pulling her hand from my grip, fresh tears springing to her eyes. “No.” She turned to look at Harper on the stage before her eyes settled on Amelia. “None of it matters anymore.” She pulled her hand from my grip as she ripped my heart from my chest.

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because there is always going to be a Payton, or Harper around, and I can’t go through all of that again. And you don’t really know me either. Trust me, you don’t want to.” She sighed loudly. "I just wanted someone to look at me like guys look at all the other girls,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “And now I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’m sorry.”

  She walked around the bar and began to push her way through the crowds of people toward the door. I knew that, since the moment I waited for her in the elevator, I could never let a door close between us again. I had to stop her. I began to push through the people, but the crowd was in complete chaos.

  My eyes snapped to the small stage just as Harper finished her song and the people erupted in cheers. I made my way to the tiny platform and stepped in front of the mic, my eyes scanning the people for Henley. I smiled when I saw her just as she reached the door.

  “Henley,” I called out, the microphone whining loudly as I spoke and I took a step back as she turned her head to look at me, her eyes wide. The crowd fell into a hush as all eyes were locked on me. I cleared my throat, glancing over to Beef who stood with Gigi by his side. “I know you don’t have many reasons to trust me. I know I have screwed up and played games. But from that moment in your dorm when I first saw you, you have been the only person on my mind.” I ran my fingers through my hair as I looked down at the floor, searching for the words to tell her just how important she was to me. When I glanced up, I saw Amelia’s face, broken and holding back tears. I was pushing away the one person I knew was prepared to stand by me for a chance with a girl who could barely stand to look me in the eye.

  “I’ve screwed up a lot, and I know I have no right to ask for another chance... but you’re wrong about one thing.”

  Henley took a few steps toward the stage and people moved to the side to let her pass. Her eyes stayed locked on me, and I knew she was hating being the center of attention. It gave me a surge of confidence knowing she wanted to hear what I had to say.

  “I know you. You may think you’ve been able to hide who you really are, but I know you. You ramble like you’re out of your mind when you’re nervous or upset.”

  The corners of her lips quirked up in a smile as her cheeks began to darken.

  “You turn the sexiest shade of pink when I embarrass you... like this. Sorry.”

  She rolled her eyes as she struggled to keep her face unreadable. Someone from the crowd yelled, “What else?” and I laughed.

  “Um... you’re a sore loser when it comes to pool or video games.”

  Henley folded her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowing.

  “You’re kind, even when people don’t deserve it. You have a lot on your shoulders, but you never complain.”

  She took a few more steps toward me and that crippling heartache that had nearly killed me since we’d been apart had ebbed slightly.

  “What else?” she called out, and I could hear the playfulness in her tone. I stepped down from the makeshift stage and walked toward her, my heart hammering in my chest as I looked into her eyes.

  “The truth is, you were right. I could never look at you like those other girls. You're not like them. You're different, Henley."

  She exhaled, and I could tell she still didn’t understand how special she was.

  "I couldn’t take my eyes off you from the moment I met you. I see you. I see who you really are." He tucked my hair behind my ear, letting it slide between his fingers before his arm fell to his side. "When you're lost in your head, smiling to yourself when you think no one is looking. I see it. The way the corner of your mouth tugs down when I mention your violin. I see it all, every piece of you. Even the broken ones. And I want to fix it, make you whole, but I don't know how."

  "I don't need you to fix me, Lucas. I just need you to be by my side, so I don't have to go through things alone."

  “I can do that,” I whispered.

  “What else?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as her voice took on a more playful tone.

  “I love you.”

  Her teeth raked over her lower lip as she stared up at me with wide eyes.

  “Give me another chance, love.”

  “Lucas –” she breathed.

  “Unless you’re scared,” I challenged her, knowing it would drive her insane.

  “I’m not scared of you.”

  “Then kiss me,” I whispered.

  Pressing up on her toes, her arms looped around my neck as her lips met mine. I wrapped my arms around her lower back, lifting her from the ground as I kissed her like she held the las
t breath in a world deprived of oxygen. Her legs wrapped around my midsection and everyone else in the room seemed to fade away, their cheers morphing into static.

  “I love you,” she sighed with her lips still pressed against mine. I winced as her hand landed on my bicep. “What’s wrong?” she asked, pulling up my sleeve to reveal a white square taped to my skin. “What is that?” Her eyebrows pulled together as she slowly pulled the tape, revealing the picture of her face I’d drawn.

  “I told you I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

  Her eyes widened, glossing over as if she finally saw how much she meant to me.

  “Well stop staring at it like that. It’s creepy,” I teased earning me a wide smile as she smacked me playfully. “Ouch,” I hissed as the sting radiated through my new ink work.

  “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”

  “You can make it up to me.” I lowered her to the ground, but my hands lingered on her sides.

  “Anything.”

  “Go out with me. I know this great little place in town that has these killer stuffed mushrooms.”

  She shrugged. “I can spare an hour. Let’s get this over with.”

  “That’s the spirit, love.”

  The End

  Shameful (Shame On You Series #2) coming soon!

  About the Author

  Teresa Mummert

  Teresa Mummert grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where she began dating her husband when they were only sixteen years old. They married at eighteen and soon moved to Louisiana as her husband began his military career. They are the proud parents of four children that they are raising in Georgia.

  Teresa began writing when her husband deployed to Afghanistan as a way to cope with him being away at war. She soon became a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her work includes the word of mouth bestselling White Trash Trilogy which landed her a three book publishing deal with Simon & Schuster. She has also written the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel The Note and the USA Today bestselling novel Safe Word. Other novels include Perfect Lie, Pretty Little Things, the Honor Series, Rellik, The Good Girls, Something Wicked, Crave, The Death of Lila Jane, Hollow (Hollow Point #1), Bleed Ink (Indie Author Guide), Shameless (Shame on You Series), and the USA Today bestselling novel Sweet Nothing co-written with Jamie McGuire.

  Future releases include Hellion (Hollow Point #2), Defending Her Honor (Honor Series), Cruel, Depravity, When the Memories Fade, Weeping Willow, Paper Doll, The Deep, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Rocked, Before I Wake, Fall to Pieces, Ash & Dust, and Victim. She also has a Middle-Grade children's novel coming out soon titled The Seeker under the pseudonym T.S. Mummert.

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  Did you love Shameless? Then you should read The Good Girls by Teresa Mummert!

  My life was meticulously planned and I refused to deviate from that path. While my peers were partying, I prepared for the future. Then a tragic event destroyed everything and I learned that while I was looking ahead, I forgot to live in the moment.

  Starting over seemed impossible until I met Cara McCarthy, who lived every day like it was her last. She opened my eyes to a world of chaos and disorder. I loved every minute of it. She was also dating Tristan Adams, one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever seen.

  The three of us became inseparable. Our parents were oblivious and soon lines became blurred, feelings began to grow, and someone’s heart was going to get broken. I hoped it wasn’t mine.

  Read more at Teresa Mummert’s site.